M’sian, Philippine police to sign pact on forward base

PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Malaysia Police ( PDRM) and their Philippines counterpart will next month sign an agreement to construct a forward base in southern Philippines.

Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the construction of the forward base was aimed at tackling crossborder crime in the South China Sea, especially kidnapping.

This was decided at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Philippines Secretary of Interior Ministry and Local Government, Ismael D Sueno, here yesterday. Khalid said that he was informed the agreement would be signed in the second weekend of September in Manila.

“Things such as the location and time of construction will be discussed before the agreement is signed,” he told reporters, here yesterday.

Earlier, Khalid accompanied Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, in a 30-minute meeting with Ismael, who is here for the International Conference on the Blue Ocean Strategy (ICBOS) from Aug 16-18.

Construction of the forward base was decided during a meeting betwen Khalid and his counterpart, General Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa, on the sidelines of the 36th Asean Police (Aseanapol) Conference, here on July 28.

Ismael said the Philippine government had concluded negotiation on Bangsamoro Basic Law ( BBL) which was in the implementation stage.

“WearethankfultotheMalaysian government for facilitating the agreement between Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) and the government. We are determined to uphold peace. Everybody is afraid of President Roberto Duterte who is determined to hunt down Abu Sayyaf group.

“Five Malaysians are still with Abu Sayyaf. Our priority is to bring them back safely with help from the Malaysian government,” he said. — Bernama

Things such as the location and time of construction will be discussed before the agreement is signed. Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Inspector General of Police